


Other Step

by HarukaWritesThings



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, First Deep Kiss, FirstFriendShipping, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Love, M/M, Platonic Love, Pre-Slash, Pure Love, Romance, SatoGou, Slash, Soft Boys, journeyshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24780067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarukaWritesThings/pseuds/HarukaWritesThings
Summary: Ash and Goh's relationship was fresh but it felt like they were dating for much longer. They were already comfortable enough with all kinds of kisses. But there was one type that was never explored...
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 2
Kudos: 111





	Other Step

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Otro paso](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166858) by [deathangel91](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathangel91/pseuds/deathangel91)



> It has been since a while! An idea had surfaced for the latest weeks and I thought it could be interesting to write about it. It also matches with the Pride Month. Happy month of June!
> 
> A few quick notes: 
> 
> \- I like to think that this story happens somewhere between episode 16 and 17 of Pokémon Journeys/Pocket Monsters (2019)!  
> \- This text serves as a prequel to the happenings of Litten's Narrative fanfiction series, right before "A Change of Routine". It's published in my AO3 page!  
> \- I'm not an English native speaker so I ask apologies in advance in case the writing is a little weird sometimes.  
> \- Canon characters' voices = Japanese  
> \- (EDIT November 2020) An illustration was added! Tags were added as well.  
> \- (EDIT January 2021) I did a general revision to the text to fix grammar and verbal snags, as well doing very minor alterations. A special thanks to everyone who has read my story and left comments and/or kudos. It's my most popular SatoGou text by this time of writing!  
> Please enjoy the read!

A roundabout. This circular platform was the best metaphor to define Goh’s emotions. Everything changed since he gave a determined leap of faith towards the roaming Lugia in Vermilion City’s waterfront. He was prepared, solely, to take photographs and to record some video footage on his smartphone of this legendary Pokémon as a personal achievement. He wasn’t ready to meet other boy of the same age and as passionate as him about these mysterious creatures. And even less for the fact that he would fall in love for him about twenty-four hours later.

It wasn’t the first time that the youngster of the sky-blue eyes had feelings about someone. One year before, he had gathered courage to declare to a student from the same school and of the same age as his. He had made an effort to write down a text to read it out loud, because he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t stutter or say something completely different and be misinterpreted. This kind of things had to be perfect. When that day arrived Goh was shy, yet confident. His childhood friend Chloe was unaware of the crush. She only found out the truth after secretly following her friend in an interval for lunch and observing the scenario behind a cherry tree. The listener of the declaimed text, retreated few steps back with great disturbance and interjected out loud a “ _You’re not normal!!_ ”, echoing in the whole court and calling the attention of everyone around. Noticing what had happened a few moments back, the nearby students started to whisper to each other without removing their inquisitive eyes to the boy that kept holding the letter and looking around in shock. Goh was the centre of attention. And some comments could be heard in diverse pitches: _“He’s weird!”, “Do you know him?”, “Turn around, he is looking to you!”_ and other unpleasant ones. Chloe was about to run towards her friend in order to defend him from all the weird looks but right before, Goh had fled from the yard and everyone looked to him go off the distance without moving away from their spots. The girl decided to take an alternate direction to not be noticed by the judging classmates and go after him.

After some search in the whole school, Chloe reminded to go close the water closet room of the highest floor of the building, it was very few used compared with the lower level ones that were more crowded. From the entrance, she could hear sobbing. Looking aside, Chloe noticed a paper bin with the ripped letter. She leaned against the wall with sadness in her eyes as she heard her heartbroken friend, unaware of her presence. It was a surprise for her to realize that the charcoal-haired classmate had a preference for boys. She couldn’t see anything wrong with that and didn’t understand why the others were having so much prejudice towards him, even if the feeling was not reciprocal. She was tempted to talk directly to Goh once he would get out of the boys’ water closet to help him stop crying. But at the same time, she reminded the fact that Goh had never discussed with her about his love interests at any point since they’ve met. If he had never told her anything, including his decision to declare his feelings for a boy, that meant he didn’t want her to know about anything, right? Based in this kind of thought, Chloe turned away and went back to the classroom to finish her lunch and pretend that she had never left from her seat in first place.

To the pigtailed girl’s surprise, Goh hadn’t returned to the classroom for the remaining day. _“Is he still inside the water closet?_ ”, she thought during one of the classes as he lightly tapped her mechanical pencil on her desk. The green-eyed girl decided to wait for almost everyone to leave after the last ring of the day announcing the end of the last wave of classes in that afternoon. Goh had finally appeared. He opened the door and got startled to see Chloe sat alone on her empty desk with a serious look. Without saying a word, she got up and approached with Goh’s schoolbag, with all his belongings stored inside. The boy didn’t comment anything either and simply grabbed the backpack and wore it after adjusting the handles.

On their way home, with the road being bathed into a strong orange colour of the sunset that was seen in the horizon, Chloe decided to break the deafening silence and asked her expressionless friend:

“Where were you?”

No response from Goh, who kept downcast as he walked.

“You didn’t appear after lunch, Goh. You never miss a class, what happened?”

The boy kept silent. This made the pigtailed girl upset, who ended up lifting her voice in discontent:

“ _Will you stop acting that everything is ok and explain me what’s troubling you?! I’m worried, Goh!!_ ”

Her friend had finally responded, with an assertive loud tone and frowning his eyebrows:

“ _Nothing!_ _There’s nothing troubling me or to explain to you! Just leave me alone!!_ ”

Chloe felt disturbed with the rough answer. She knew he was lying and wasn’t open at all to talk about what she had seen in the court. It was frustrating not being able to talk to him about that unfortunate episode. There was nothing she could do for now, and all she could expect would be Goh taking the initiative to discuss about the happening to her whenever he would feel ready to do so.

But he never did. From that day on, Goh became very distant. And rather cold. He rarely went to school and preferred to study at home with online resources and the paper notes that Chloe would hand over to him. And he started a routine of getting out almost daily to make his own research about the wild Pokémon he could find. This served as a catharsis for the occurrence in that day and proved to be an effective way to lock most of the negative memories of the school. Who would need friends? Goh was more than fine on his own now, with no need to interact with others with exception of Chloe who he still kept contact with. And learning new things about Pokémon couldn’t make him happier. He had found back some joy and he was convicted he didn’t need anything else.

* * *

Goh eventually managed to graduate this way and maintained this kind of practice for an entire year. Chloe barely knew how to have a proper talk with her friend, who had become so elusive and overfocused in those pocket monsters like if there was nothing else around to pay attention to. But she had realized a reversion on the sweatshirt youngster’s behaviour for the latest months. And no, it wasn’t only because he had officially become a Pokémon Research Fellow in the recently opened laboratory of her father. That could explain why he was acting more smug, happier and talkative, but not the fact he was occasionally found either daydreaming or distracted. Something was off and that had really intrigued Chloe. Her suspicions were confirmed, a certain day, after finding her childhood friend alone in the dorm, looking to the air with the crossed arms, muttering the following sentence:

“ _The fateful encounter… It wasn’t with Lugia… It was with Ash._ ”

He hid his head between his arms and continued to speak alone:

“ _I can’t stop thinking about him since that Ivysaur research. He was amazing… And the way he smiles!! … What have I done?! Why did I jump on that Lugia?! It would have been easier if I had stayed where I was!! What do I do now?!?_ ”

The pigtailed girl wasn’t impressed at all. She decided to comment out loud to her childhood friend:

“Accept the truth and tell him how do you feel.”

Goh lifted his head out of surprise and couldn’t stop blushing, realizing he was heard by Chloe.

“ _CHLOE!!_ ”

“I knew something was going on. You’ve been acting so differently since that Ivysaur thing you went to have a look at. More cheerful, acting smugger, talking about that new friend of yours _ALL the time…_ ”

The boy got up from his seat to avoid visual contact and ensure that his evident blushing wouldn’t be seen. He crossed his arms and stuttered loud:

“ _Y-YOU’RE IMAGINING THINGS!!_ ”

“ _Right. And Delibird is Santa Claus._ ”, reacted Chloe with sarcasm. She then continued to talk but now expressing concern in her voice and deciding to let him know she was aware of Goh’s romantic preference and the possible reason for why he rarely entered inside classrooms:

“Goh. I ‘ve known you for years. I haven’t seen you this way since Professor Oak’s Summer Camp. And I know you‘ve always liked boys. And that’s one of the main reasons you don’t go to school.”

The charcoal-haired child didn’t respond. He only closed his eyes as a reaction to the truth he wanted to deny. Chloe was an observant girl. How did she figured it out, he had no idea. But his friend was correct to his discontent.

“Look, I’m open-minded about that.”, she continued. “Although I really don’t see the magic behind Ash. But I think you should tell him how do you feel about him.”

“I WON’T.”

Goh didn’t turn around and dropped his arms side to his body as he clenched his hands. Chloe spread her arms and begun to lift her voice in a way to shake him out, using Pokémon analogies in hopes that the message would pass through more efficiently:

“You aren’t being honest with yourself! _You CAN’T be a Shellder forever!_ It’s ok to tell others how do you feel! Acting like a Geodude will NEVER widen your social circle!”

The boy continued to not comment anything.

“ _Are you even listening to me?!_ ”

Right after the girl’s question, Goh couldn’t hold his frustration anymore. Chloe lowered her arms in shock after noticing from afar that some tears were running down his cheeks, dropping to the floor.

“ _G-Goh…_ ”, she stuttered. The last thing that Chloe wanted to do was to hurt Goh’s feelings. She went far, she realized. The girl approached Goh, carefully placing a hand over his shoulder and said:

“ _I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I am j-_ “

Goh slapped off the girl’s hand in a way that she even gave a step backwards. The boy started to talk in a severe pitch, with his eyes shut tight:

“ _Everything is straightforward and crystal clear to you. Isn’t it, Chloe?! If only things were THAT easy._ ”

“ _I’m telling you I’m sorry, I-_ “

“ _Do you know how it feels to be rejected? Because you’re different?! Because, to them, I’m obsessed with Pokémon?! Because I don’t look like a boy?! To them, I’m ugly. And that one time I’ve confessed to a boy from our school… I got told I wasn’t normal. And I heard every kind of comments. Mocking about my name and such…_ ”

Chloe kept listening to her venting friend with concern.

“ _Contrary to you, Chloe, where everyone likes you and your confidence, I’m seen as a weird guy. I don’t need them. I don’t need friends. I can handle myself. Like I always did._ ”

The white dressed girl immediately prevented Goh’s attempt to run away from the dorm by grabbing his arm with both hands.

“ _Goh, wait!!_ ”

“ _GET OFF ME!!_ ”, he shouted out loud as he sobbed. Chloe’s level of worry kept increasing as she wasn’t definitely used to see Goh’s fragile side. For a little over than one year, the green-eyed lass was convinced that the rejection episode had transformed Goh’s heart into stone. She was proven wrong at this precise moment.

“ _Look at me!_ You’re making me worried! For real!”, she pleaded.

When her friend turned to her, his eyes reflected a genuine sadness. This had disturbed Chloe, who commented in pity:

“ _Goh… Good Arceus, look at the state you’re in…_ I’ve never seen you this way, before… _Incredible…_ you _really_ like Ash.”

Goh held a bit of the sweatshirt’s fabric as he detoured his look and his cheeks turned red-coloured. He shyly noted:

 _“…He wouldn’t want a relationship with some strange guy like me, anyway. Nevermind, Chloe._ ”

There was a moment of silence. The reserved boy had finally opened himself to Chloe by admitting he was interested in being more than a friend with that Pallet villager, something she had suspected for a few weeks. It was obvious for her. Ash was a common noun to be declaimed in almost every talk she had with him. For the first time since a long time, it wasn’t about Mew. Other detail she had observed was Goh’s increasing physical interaction with the cap-wearing lad. Too many hugs for the expected standards. Goh wasn’t the kind of person to interact physically. And every time Ash talked, he was paying lots of attention and his eyes occasionally expressing compassion with the dilatated pupils.

Her face frowned with determination to help out Goh to bring an end to those tears, and to give hopes to him there was a possibility of things turning right this time. She said:

“I’ll give you reasons why he _would_.”

Goh opened his eyes and curiously looked to her.

“You’re _intelligent_ , _calm_ , _rational_ , _kind_ …”, she counted with the fingers. “…Sometimes you’re _stubborn_ , _clumsy_ , _impulsive_ …”, she added with a smirk as she saw Goh detouring the look once again, acknowledging the true facts.

Chloe continued with her argument:

“And Ash shares most of these qualities, from what I’ve noticed so far. You both have a _lot_ of things in common. It _could_ work out! You both even _love_ _Pokémon_! And were both _crazy_ enough to jump on a Lugia’s back. You won’t find _anyone else_ in your life doing the same thing as you _did_!”

“ _…What if he doesn’t want a relationship with me and I end up scaring him, thus losing his friendship? I don’t want that…_ ”

“Goh, I don’t think he’s that kind of boy that would do that to you.”

She placed her hand on Goh’s shoulder and encouraged her friend with the following sentence:

“Didn’t you say a while ago that the future is at the palm of your hand? It’s also in your hand to _capture_ his _heart_. Capture with your _honest words_. Like a _Poké Ball_ to capture a Pokémon.”

Goh wasn’t expecting to listen his rigid childhood friend being supportive about something and to encourage him to declare his feelings for Ash. A spark of hope had emerged from his delicate heart and made him smile. Chloe was satisfied to observe that.

“ _…Thank you, Chloe._ ”

“Now that’s better, _a smile!_ You just need to remember one thing.”

“What is it?”, asked the charcoal-colored hair lad as he cleaned off his face from the tears. The girl closed her eyes as she commented in a tone of joke the following:

“Considering there’s no such thing as a “Dense Ball” to capture that boy, your words need to have the crafting quality of a Master Ball. Going for Ultra Ball standards is unacceptable.”

Goh stared to her, perplex, to hear her uninterested friend in anything related with Pokémon, telling a joke with that kind of vocabulary. He let out a laughter and said:

“I have to admit, that was a good one!”

The talk was interrupted by two familiar voices echoing the whole laboratory:

“ _I’M BAAAAWHOAAAHA!!_ ”

“ _PIKAAAAAAAAA!!_ ”

A harsh metallic crash was heard, scaring the children who have turned immediately to the direction of the sound source.

“ _M-Magnemite…_ ”

Chloe vocalized an annoyance sigh as she slapped her hands on her face and grumbled:

“ _…Did he just step on Ren’s Magnemite AGAIN?!_ ”

“FRANCOIS!!”, shouted Ren in panic after seeing his complaining Pokémon.

“ _My heeAAAD!!!_ ”, Ash painfully interjected out loud from the main hall. This had alerted Goh who didn’t hesitate to leave the dorm in a rush to help him out.

“ _Ash!!_ ”, he shouted as he left.

“ _…I’m starting to regret giving Goh advice…_ ”, told Chloe to herself in constraint.

Going down stairs allowed her to observe Goh’s dedication to ensure that Ash’s physical integrity wasn’t affected by tripping on the resident Steel-type Pokémon. Everyone was ok. Goh was really relieved, and smiling widely as he listened to Ash talking to him with the usual wide smile of his. Although her presence in the laboratory was not constant, Chloe had realized one thing for the past days: Ash had begun a morning routine of jogging, alone, with Pikachu. It was surprising that Goh wasn’t doing the same thing. She later learnt thanks to her blue-eyed friend that Ash insisted Goh to stay at the laboratory to take care of the Pokémon at Cerise Park as he did this activity as part of a “special training”. This was sounding suspicious to her point of view because before this Ash was always helping out in the Pokémon feeding and other tasks at the dedicated open space. And just like she commented minutes before, Ash had tripped on Francois again. The cap-wearing boy was being much clumsier than the usual. Maybe the jogging was making him tired, _for once_ , and that was affecting his attention levels? Or did he become obsessed with this workout after the fever he got very recently? Ash is what Chloe believes to be a case of study in psychology. A boy she absolutely had no identification with, that owned some peculiar quirks and had high levels of hyperactivity. She failed to comprehend what kind of magic was Goh seeing around the Pallet Town boy. It was just difficult to have a proper talk with him.

* * *

Things have escalated very quickly around four days later. Chloe’s tea sipping was interrupted by Ash wanting to talk to her in private, to her great inconvenience. It was the first time he did it since he took the Pokémon Research Fellow role. She was ready for listening to either a silly question, a banal request or to be asked what was today’s lunch at Cerise Laboratory. But it was none of those. After listening to Ash’s reason for the talk, she was glad she had placed the tea mug on the nearest surface to her because the girl took both her hands to the mouth in shock for the followed seconds. Ash wanted Chloe to secretly phone a to be checked out without the knowledge of anyone in the institute, including Goh, because he was in great confusion and anxiety due to some strange symptoms he had never felt before except in important Pokémon battles, but much more amplified and not showing up all the time. It was crystal clear to the pigtailed girl what was happening with Ash. The dense boy, wasn’t as dense as she thought he was. Ash was in love. And what took her hands to the mouth was when Ash complained in nervousness that the symptoms were returning, right after he had mentioned Goh’s name. Chloe couldn’t believe that Ash had reciprocal feelings for Goh, beyond friendship. The white dressed lass realized this was the perfect opportunity for her childhood friend to heal his sentimental wounds once and for all and there was nothing it could go wrong with this certainty about Ash having a positive reaction. Instead of explaining the blue-coated lad what he had, or to phone a doctor, Chloe advised the lightning-cheeks lad to see the grey sweatshirt pal immediately and describe the symptoms to him because Goh would know what to do about those. She didn’t explain further than that. And it wasn’t necessary because Ash accepted her advice right away and sprinted out of the laboratory towards Cerise Park to look for boy with charcoal and red-shaded hair.

The boys returned to the laboratory about an hour later. And when Chloe saw them, they were giving hands. The green-eyed girl’s strategy had worked and she got hugged by both the young researchers in gratitude for her evident help to bring them together to a higher relationship level. She felt happy for both although she didn’t want to show it. This small help was done mostly in mind after Goh, out of pity for what had happened to him in the past. Not really for Ash. Now what she could expect from the cap-wearing boy was that he was making sure that he would never hurt or make Goh sad. And to bring out Goh’s hidden qualities to the surface, that he kept them buried for a long time. Despite of his quirky personality, Chloe was confident that Ash had potential to make Goh become a better person from this moment ahead. And the moment she would find out that Ash isn’t being correct after her friend, she would be capable to chase him down the descending road side to the building with her dad’s protective Yamper. _With a broom if necessary!_

Those worries had vanished fast to Cerise’s daughter. From all the times that she was around the laboratory’s installations, she could have a discrete side look to the fresh couple. If they already had a great chemistry before, it just multiplied to the double or the triple. No calculator could do that math. They were really joined at the hip. Both boys’ cheeks were turning red pigmented upon mutual sight. And shyly scrubbing their hairs and touching their arms or hand for brief seconds. Nobody else in the staff knew about their new relationship status yet and Ash and Goh had decided that they would only tell that to them maybe after a full month would pass. That cycle was taking forever to arrive for them.

A full week had passed since Ash and Goh started to date. They took advantage of every privacy moment, either in research duties or inside the institute to exchange kisses around the face and the lips. The latter was the one that vibrated most to their souls. Each time one was exchanged it was like a spark of energy to boost out their strength to face the challenges of the daylight. It was addictive. It could boost one so quickly with energy, as it quickly would demand another identical boost. There was a day, where Ash was so thrilled about Goh’s intimate exchange of affection that he took over _seven Trainers followed_ in a single afternoon. _And he wasn’t minimally tired!_ His supportive Pokémon were impressed with this and happy to see that Ash’s spirit had become a thunderstorm once he begun dating, recovering from the recent less successful trainings. Nobody could stop him to increase his rank to be a step closer to face Leon! An identical effect had happened to Goh when it was Ash delivering intimate fondness. His willpower to investigate Pokémon became fire, taking photographs and videos of surrounding Pokémon with mastery as well making _vigorous and critical throws of Poké Balls_. The blue-eyed lad felt he had reborn and that nothing was impossible to achieve. Not impossible to catch every single Pokémon species in existence. _Not impossible to catch the mythical Mew._

Ash had recently noticed that Goh, from time to time, seemed to be overfocused on his Rotom Phone. His eyes could tell that he was focused reading some texts. Every time the boy asked about the subject, his boyfriend would quickly save the device back to his pocket blush hard and interjecting a quick and nervous “ _Nothing!!_ ”. He didn’t give a lot of matter to this at first, but even Goh seemed to space out a little at some circumstances, like that day that his observant soulmate was paying a lot of attention to an old Kalosian movie passing in a television screen of a restaurant about a passionate couple. Or in the other morning where a romantic pair had warmly said farewell at Vermilion’s port by embracing themselves and being quite involved in a kiss.

Both kisses were of the same kind. One that hadn’t been explored yet by the curious Vermilion City habitant. He knew that kiss was the most intimate one to have with anyone, only reserved to the true destined of one’s life. _But how does it feel like?_ This question had intrigued Goh for the latest days, now that he was absolutely comfortable kissing Ash’s lips or the other way around. Even the information he tried to search online in secrecy were inconclusive. His biggest concern was when it would be the right time to do it. _Would it be too early for Ash? How would he react to it?_ The sweatshirt child was perfectly aware that this special kind of kiss was a completely different level to the one where there’s a quick peck. _Maybe Ash wouldn’t like it…_

* * *

A busy research day has come to an end. Dinner was eaten, teeth were brushed and a shower was taken; one at a time. Goh takes the opportunity that Ash is having a shower to check once again for information on his phone, more concretely about how the kiss should be ideally performed. The more paragraphs he read, the redder his face would turn and feel fuzzier. Scorbunny looks to Goh from behind him with curiosity and then to the phone’s screen.  
  
“ _Scorbuuuun…_ ” he comments to Goh with a great smirk on his face.

Goh gets startled with his presence and with the face he did. It was equal to the one of the day Ash had caught Gengar and to the one when he started to date him. He quickly hides the phone and turns his back in annoyance.

“ _Scorbunny!!_ This kind of things are private!”

Pikachu was nearby, wondering what was the conversation about. Noticing the electric Pokémon’s tilted head, the fire rabbit explains him:

“Scor scorbunny scorbun nny nny!”

“Pika?! … _Piiiiiika… Pika pipika pikapi…_ ”, reacts Pikachu with a mischievous grin on his face and giving a prideful thumbs up to Goh.

“ _U-uh!!!_ Pikachu, I’m not even sure if I do this tonight!! Or… _if I ever do it…!!!_ ”, reacts Goh with great nervousness.

Pikachu and Scorbunny are great supporters of the relationship. They had witnessed their Trainers exchanging their first kiss a week before and being marveled with the follow up of it: Ash comforting a relieved sobbing Goh, carrying him on his shoulders to pretend to be a Lunala, Goh wearing Ash’s cap and all the cute words they have told to each other and all the laughter. Their bonding had hardened up more than a Steelix using Iron Defense. It was a beautifully pure scenario.

The two Pokémon hold their hands and pout their lips, with some distance on their faces, to show Goh they were encouraging him to try out the unexplored kiss. Especially Pikachu, because he’s certain that his Trainer would be receptive about it. Even with Pikachu’s support, Goh wasn’t sure of what to do. He’s extremely nervous. And he doesn’t want to be selfish. This is a subject he needs to think carefully about the possible consequences.

Before he could pick open again the Rotom Phone’s browser, Ash returns to the bedroom with his pajama put on. Goh acknowledges that the reading has to be for other time so, what he ends up doing is to program an alarm to ensure they won’t oversleep for the research day that awaits them in the next morning.

“I feel ready to go to bed now!”, says Ash with his typical ripped smile. “I can’t wait to go back to Viridian Forest! That’s where I’ve captured my first Pokémon!”

“ _Ah!..._ Was it there?”, reacts Goh in an attempt to pretend he isn’t hiding anything.

“Yes! A Caterpie!”, he specifies at the same time he sits down on his mattress. “ _We were good friends…_ ”

“ _”Were”?_ Did something happen?”

Ash’s light somehow fades out once Goh does that statement, looking down in a nostalgic way.

“ _I released him._ ”

Goh’s eyebrows lift in surprise. He knows Ash is so emotionally attached to Pokémon that he wasn’t expecting to learn about his boyfriend having released a Pokémon before. He asks delicately:

“ _Can I know why?..._ I’m assuming you had a big reason to do it.”

“ _He evolved to a Metapod and then to a Butterfree… And one day, he fell in love with a pink one from a swarm. He liked her so much that he did everything to rescue her when she was endangered. And once everything was well, they danced… So…_ ”

“ _…you released it. For he could be with her forever…_ ”

Ash nods.

“ _Back then, it was really complicated for me to understand the true meaning of all of it. I hesitated but… I realized how important it was for him so I thought it was the right thing to do._ ”

“ _You took the right decision._ ”, Goh affirms with a compassionate smile.

“ _I miss him… But… I’m sure he’s happy now. And…_ He’s probably a father by this point!”, says Ash with more optimism in his voice and with a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

Goh giggles while his cheeks were also turning slightly red colored. “I don’t doubt about it!”

“ _Goh?_ ”, asks Ash to his lover, who keeps paying attention to him. “ _I think I now understand what it felt for Butterfree to be released and be able to travel with the pink one… Its true meaning._ ”

Ash lifts his head and looks to the blue-eyed boy with tenderness, blushing a little more than before.

“It’s _exactly_ what I feel for being able to spend time with you in our researches around the world! _I would feel so sad if I wasn’t allowed to do so…_ ”

The sentence makes Goh’s face turn completely red and feel extremely fuzzy, who didn’t know how to respond to the sweet statement. He closes his eyes and smiles humbly as he moves the head sideways.

Pikachu and Scorbunny look to the scene in awe. The Pokémon wonder if something else is going to happen. They look to Goh, who’s still lost in his own thoughts in the same pose. There’s a small silence, only broken with Ash’s soft giggle as he shyly scratches his nape.

“Well, I guess I’ll sleep now.”, he adds with a yawn.

“I’ll do the same.”, responds Goh, who gets up from the chair and approaches the bottom bunk to exchange a quick kiss on the lips of his special one. “Good night, Ash.”

“Good night, Goh.”

The two did kiss, but not in the way that Pikachu and Scorbunny were expecting to be. Goh had a missed opportunity; they think as they look to each other and shrug. Both their Trainers were tucking themselves in their own bunks. The two Pokémon tell good night wishes to each other as they jump to their own spots of their mattresses. They quickly fall asleep, including Ash who gives subtle snores from time to time.

Goh, on the other hand, is having difficulties to fall asleep. He keeps changing positions and none seems to work to make him drowsier. It was frustrating to see the Rabbit Pokémon falling asleep so quickly. The boy suspects what’s the reason for not being able to sleep. He tried really hard to think in something else but it was impossible. The earlier statement of Ash didn’t help much in that matter. The charcoal-coloured hair child decides to go down the ladder and pick up his phone that he forgot to take with him before.

“ _Are you still awake?..._ ”, asks Ash in a slightly sleepy tone.

Goh gives a small jump and gasps out of fright because of the sudden voice. He freezes in place and replies “ _Y-Yes…_ ”.

A sound of lifted bedsheets is heard, calling his attention to turn towards Ash still in the bed.

“Do you want to sleep in the bottom bunk with me tonight?”

Goh hesitates. There was the risk of not being able to get up in time the morning after, or awakening in time but being very tired for the rest of the day. These incidents have happened in two previous nights. But how could he resist to his unique charm and the soft smile he was giving as he had the sheets lifted up with his arm? The boy walks closer to Ash and cautiously lays down on his right side. The brown-eyed child covered both themselves and realizes that Goh turned the back to him, worrying him.

“What’s the matter? You ‘ve been so quiet.”

“ _Nothing…_ ”

“Are you sure? Because you’ve been acting strange for the past three days.”, insists Ash who isn’t convinced with Goh’s reply. “It’s like you’re thinking a lot in something… I often see you on the Rotom Phone when I’m not around.”

Goh swallows in dry. Ash is wary of his moments of distraction. The boy of the lightning-marked cheeks asks softly with a bit of sadness due to concern:

 _“…Did I do something at any moment that you didn’t like, Goh? If I did, I’m sorry… I don’t want to do anything bad to you…_ ”

“ _N-No, you didn’t!_ Don’t say that!”, immediately assures Goh, alarmed by the negative voice tone and for Ash having turned the back against him. “ _It’s just…_ ”

Goh pauses, and Ash lifts his head a little sideways to listen to what his boyfriend was going to explain.

 _“…I couldn’t ask for anything better other than your company, your support and… your heart.”_ he continues, but with a very soft pitch and blushing slightly once again. _“It has been a week, isn’t it? Time passes so quickly… Seven days ago, I felt like the luckiest boy of the entire world. I never thought I would… be in a relationship. And being liked back… I’ve been realizing how… colorless has been my life. Trapped into a bubble. Without light… It’s difficult to explain… You changed my life, Ash. For better. You illuminate me…_ ”

Ash’s eyes shine a little with all the kind words declaimed by his soulmate that did a slight smile as it closed his eyes on the last sentences. The Pallet Town boy is self-aware that his face was getting warmer due to the blushing. Every time that Goh sends him a compliment it gives an immediate effect in his restless heart.

But Goh isn’t done talking. He pondered well in what he would say next during the quick moment of silence. And he decides to be honest with Ash:

“ _…I love every kiss we exchange… Be it on the cheeks, the forehead, the neck, the lips… but…… There’s one we never tried it out._ ”

“ _Huh?_ ”, asks Ash who blinks his eyes a few times out of curiosity and turns his belly up, facing the top bunk. He looks a little sideways to Goh and asks innocently: “What kind of kiss?”

His blue-eyed boyfriend blushes even harder as his heart beat begins to thump quicker due to a crescent feeling of nervousness. He’s too timid to describe it directly. Goh decides to define by other words as he shrugs more his limbs:

“ _…A kiss that… only couples who truly love each other passionately do it… to people that they truly think they’re destined to be forever with… it’s very… intimate. Even more than one in the lips…_ ”

Seconds after, Ash grins at ease and relaxedly asks Goh:

“Then why don’t we try it out?”

Goh’s pupils shrink in astonishment, incredulous with Ash’s relaxed spirit. He finally turns himself to face Ash sideways and can confirm on his facial expression that Ash isn’t minimally concerned, nervous or hesitant about the subject. Goh is almost sure that Ash has no idea about the nature of the kiss because it wasn’t possible to be so relaxed about it, especially if it was the first time trying it out.

“ _A-Are you sure?... You seem to be so… calm about it…_ ”, Goh blinks his eyes in an identical form to the one Ash did minutes earlier, lifting a little his torso with his arms.

Ash places a bent arm behind his head and says optimistically:

“If we never did it before, we could give it a try! It shouldn’t be that bad, right? If you say that it’s only for people we choose to be always together, then I‘ve made up my mind! I choose you, Goh!”

Goh’s body feels fuzzier once more with Ash’s honest feelings and he had lost the account of how many times he blushed in this same day.

“Ready when you are!”, says the thick-eyebrowed boy with all normality.

“ _Uhm…_ ”, hums Goh in precaution. He looks to the side to ensure Pikachu is fast asleep and if there isn’t a peeking Scorbunny on the top bunk’s slatted bed. Now confirmed there were no unwanted looks around, it was time to gather some courage and take initiative. The Vermilion City boy carefully places himself on top of his boyfriend with the stretched arms on the sides of Ash’s body. And looks on his eyes with a mixture of tenderness and nervousness.

“Goh, you really look nervous… it’s just a kiss.”, notes Ash with neutrality. “By the way, you didn’t tell me how you do it.”

“I’ll have to ask you to close your eyes.”

“And after?”

“ _After…_ you’ll see. From what I know, there’s no right way to do it. It’s very instinctive.”

“You mean, like being in a battle and coming up with a strategy right on the moment because nothing was planned?”

“ _S-Sort of, yes!_ ”, confirms Goh with a shy giggle due to the used analogy by Ash.

“Alright. My eyes are shut!”, informs Ash, doing exactly what Goh had requested. He keeps smiling in expectation.

Goh swallows dry once again. Asking Ash’s eyes to be closed was definitely easier for him to concentrate and be a little less nervous. The low dorm lightning equally contributed for that. His heart was beating faster and faster as he took a deep breath and used the tip of his tongue to pass over his own lips. Seconds later, he slowly approaches his boyfriend’s face and closes his eyes. Feeling the exhalation breath of Ash made him even more anxious, stopping the approach when he was very few centimeters away from his mouth. Goh’s face was boiling out of shyness. After some pondering, he gave a peck on his lips and Ash felt something unusual in that kiss: it was very ticklish. As ticklish as the feeling of a Ghost-type Pokémon using the move Lick, except it wasn’t giving Paralysis. It mostly lowed down the Defense! Ash laughed after the sensation, without opening his eyes.

“What was that? That tickles!”

Goh had opened his eyes after moving his head a few distance away and observed the eye-closing Ash blushing in enjoyment with the use the tip of his tongue to do a nearly imperceptible lick after the lip kiss. Ash is just adorable; Goh thinks in awe. He can’t really imagine wanting to bond so hard with someone else in the planet. The boy is getting even more certain that Lugia had travelled to Vermilion City in purpose to unite them. Their meeting was pure fate, there was no scientific explanation for such phenomenon. It was time to seal that letter of compromise. To hold the future. The one he could see with his own sky-blue eyes. So, he closes the eyes and leans forward for the second time, this time with more determination and locks his lips on Ash’s as he puts his knowledge to proof. The kiss lasts for about four seconds, as Goh had forgotten how to breathe due to nervousness. Ash had opened his eyes out of surprise for the new sensation, the quickness and listening to Goh panting as he’s blushing hard.

“Goh? _That didn’t feel right…_ ”

“ _I-I know…_ ”, he says in embarrassment due to the feeling of failure to perform it. He’s so nervous that he had forgotten how to breathe and feels stupid about it.

“I think you need to relax.”, advises Ash, neutral. “It felt a little too quick for me. Aren’t you supposed to make it last longer? I could barely do anything!”

“ _Oh?..._ ”, hums Goh in surprise by realizing that he misinterpreted Ash’s opinion. He wasn’t talking about the kiss’ nature. He was talking about the way it’s done! The boy is even more confused than before. Does Ash know about this type of kiss or not? A real mystery, because the way he talks makes it seem like he knows what he is talking about. Maybe he’s aware of it although he never tried the kiss out? This was an inappropriate moment to make such questions, so Goh preferred to focus again on the present.

“ _Please relax, Goh… I won’t harm you…_ ”, assures Ash with some uneasiness.

“ _I-It isn’t that, Ash! I-_ “

Goh is interrupted by Ash placing his forefinger in front of his lips. He does a tender smile and tells him:

“ _I have full trust in you. I’m also expecting you to trust in me._ ”

Ash closes his eyes again and waits for Goh to reattempt the kiss. His boyfriend with prominent eyelashes feels fuzzy to know that Ash shares total confidence for whatever he would decide to do. The brown-eyed boy didn’t express disliking for what Goh had done in those four seconds. He had the right feeling that it was only required to be less nervous and taking the necessary time to do it. With his confidence boosted thanks to the keen observation of Ash, he approaches his face for a second time, closes his eyes and pecks the lips once more. And immediately after, he tries again, and embraces his boyfriend’s head with an arm. Ash, in response, does the same gesture and, with the other free arm, looks for Goh’s free hand and gently grabs it to close his fingers in between. Their bodies vibrate inside both of them with an incredible flowing energy; euphoric and powerful. Goh and Ash’s consciences use the Baton Pass move. To their own instincts.

Inside each one’s souls, an extraordinary phenomenon is taking place, where only a Lucario would be able to visualize graphically. Darkness becomes light, like if a Flash move had been put a use in the most obscure of caves. Abstract black and white scenarios, slowly spill colour and expand their spectrum. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Light blue. Blue. Purple. All the shades flow in grace like the frills of a singing Aurorus altering the magnetic fields to invoke an aurora, to blend together and show the true colours of the world. Abstraction turns into definition in a rhythmic twist like a kaleidoscope. Silence gives place to music. A ballad, playing in multiple forms. Played with the keys of a piano. Played with the air like a transversal flute. Played with strings of a harp. Or a violin. Each note, as melodic as a Meloetta’s song. Cold turns to heat, like if a Heatran had conquered territory from a Kyurem. The air is steaming, like a Volcanion announcing its presence, and its smell is sweet and exquisite. The touch is smooth. Gravity reaches the absolute zero. The spirits have come back to embody Solgaleo and Lunala, traveling in the night skies as one, exploring the endless number of worlds of the Ultra Space. There is no ground. One can levitate and fly. With no destination. Without borders or boundaries. It’s the pinnacle of freedom, one greater than the one Deoxys knows about. The beginning of a journey, the biggest ever. With no direction and no destination. Because the universe is immense, and the travel would last for eternity.

The boys move away their faces a few minutes later. Both have a fair gradient of pink-red on their cheeks, steaming heat. Ash’s lips and still closed eyes express great joy, extremely pleased with the experienced sensation. He chuckles out of pleasure. Once he opens his eyes to look to Goh, Ash looks to him with curiosity. The charcoal-coloured hair boy is still with his eyes closed.

“ _Goh?.....................Goh?_ ”

Goh’s apparently neutral facial expression gradually turns into a greatly infatuated one. He vocalizes a long and soft love sigh, overwhelmed with what had just tried out. Ash places a hand on his shoulder to shake him a little and calls again for his attention:

“Goh! Do you hear me?”

Goh snaps out and looks to Ash in surprise, still trying to process what had happened earlier. Ash realizes there’s a very thin thread of saliva connecting each other’s mouths, so he cautiously takes it off by passing his thumb over his boyfriend’s lips. He then giggles, finding adorable Goh’s reaction to the recently explored kiss.

“Were you nervous because of this? I don’t see the reason for that! It was so pleasant!! You’re a good kisser, Goh!”

Ash’s special one couldn’t stop smiling in tenderness as he briefly looks sideways after listening to the compliment. “ _I’m glad…_ ”, he replies. “ _You aren’t behind, you know?..._ ”

“And you, how do you feel about it?”

“ _The sensation?..._ _Indescribable…_ ”, Goh passionately expresses his opinion as he lets himself slide down over Ash’s chest and humming a sound. Ash pets Goh’s red-shaded hair while laughing, loving to see his soft side completely exposed.

“Hey, come closer to me.”, says the brown-eyed boy as he pulls his lover’s body a little more up to have his head close to his own and wraps his arms around Goh’s waist. “ _Much better!_ ”

Goh is still overwhelmed with the fuzzy feelings he has. He hugs Ash after being pulled up and keeps having a dreamy face, humming random sounds in between giggles.  
  
“Wake up, Goh!”, asks a happy Ash. He kisses his cheek in an attempt to bring him back to his senses. But it was even worse. Goh hides his head on Ash’s shoulder, humming even louder. That makes Ash laugh even more. “ _You’re such a cutie!!_ ”

It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep for the rest of the night. Goh slept first due to the hair petting of his boyfriend. Ash was so relaxed with Goh’s physical presence and peaceful sleeping that he closed his eyes in no time.

* * *

The boys took time to wake up when the Rotom Phone rung the alarm. They were so comfortable in the bed that it seemed that they were Steel-types being trapped by the Magnet Pull ability in case the object was a Pokémon possessing it. Pikachu and Raboot were forced to use Thunderbolt and Double Kick respectively to force them to get out of the mattress and split apart.

They eventually went to brush their teeth, get dressed and eat breakfast to be ready to departure to Viridian Forest, even though it took a little longer than usual. Even the staff had noticed they were particularly slow today, but the thoughts didn’t go beyond that. Once outside, they took the necessary transports to travel to Viridian Forest but Goh decided to make a detour to Celadon City. He took the opportunity to buy a new lot of Poké Balls and something else. A surprise to Ash.

“ _Goh’s taking time in the counter…_ ”, comments Ash to Pikachu.

“ _Pika…_ ”, his Pokémon agrees.

“Man, I’m still recovering from last night’s sleep. Do you believe in it?”, says his Trainer while stretching his arms.

“ _Piiikapiiiii…_ ”, Pikachu notes in a mischievous way as he places the hands on his waist.

“ _W-What?..._ ”, asks Ash in constraint.

“ _Pika pika pipipika chu chu chu…_ ”

“ _I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…_ ”, he replies as he detoures his look out of the naughty eyes of the electric Pokémon, who was certain that something special had happened the previous night. When Ash looks again to his Pokémon, he shows a thumbs up with a prideful look. Ash avoids visual contact again, but more embarrassed than before as he pulls down the cap.

“ _Cut it out!!_ ”

“ _I’m here!_ Sorry for taking long.”, apologizes Goh followed up by Scorbunny, now close to his researching partner who turns his attention to him.

“Did you get all that you needed?”

“I did! And I got something for you!”  
  
“ _Huh?_ For me?”

Goh saves the Poké Ball lot inside his backpack and the mysterious remaining paperbag.

“For you. But I‘ll only show it once we’re at the Viridian Forest.”

Ash smiles in agreement. They arrive a few hours later to the destination. Since nobody was around, Goh removes the object from his backpack and shows it to Ash.

“Ash? This is for you.”

Ash turns and looks to his left hand, revealing a spherical object made of red fabric. Ash asked with curiosity.

“ _Oh?_ What’s that?”

“A Destiny Knot!”

“What is it for?”

Goh decides to demonstrate by tying a knot in his ring finger and on Ash’s one. He then explains:

“According to the popular belief, if a Pokémon that holds this thread becomes infatuated, the opposing one will become as well. _People also use it…_ _to ask a compromise to someone they love._ ”

Goh blushes when finishing his sentence. Ash does the same and smiles effusively. The two children laugh, with the nearby resident Pokémon looking to the scenario in intrigue. Pikachu and Scorbunny look to each other and smile by seeing that their Trainers’ relationship had just given other step.

**Author's Note:**

> Love can be manifested and interpreted in different ways. A kiss, for me, symbolizes the union between an enamoured couple. And if they truly love each other that action can be translated into a moment of beauty. I hope I managed to pass on that feeling through this text. Love is powerful and we should believe in it.
> 
> Part of this fic is based up in a declaration 7-parts comic strip I've drawn and uploaded in my tumblr Art blog and can be read in here (I recommend its reading in case you're interested to see my headcanon of Ash and Goh's full love declaration!): https://harukadrawsthings.tumblr.com/post/619720466294292480/edit-15062020-rewrote-the-text-of-this-part-to
> 
> Litten's Narrative Chapter 3 should pop up somewhere this Summer if everything goes fine. I just need some time to write about it. Thanks to everyone who reads my stories and have a nice day!


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